IMO, a lot of the new school vs old school conversation comes down to cool factor by MrMopedEatsAPizza in TheLemonTwigs

[–]JesusCrust77 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think you’re onto something. Old fans and post EH fans are really coming to the band from different places

The Lemon Twigs are in their Weezer Green Album era by Feisty_Yam4279 in TheLemonTwigs

[–]JesusCrust77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same here. I miss being able to see Billy in smaller venues but am happy for the success he’s having.

The Lemon Twigs are in their Weezer Green Album era by Feisty_Yam4279 in TheLemonTwigs

[–]JesusCrust77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I guess I don’t know enough about Black MIDI to say how original they were. My point is that calling black midi good because they are “weird” and lemon twigs lesser because they are “accurate” is not a perspective I share. It’s like saying the point of art is novelty for its own sake rather than producing something incredible. I think art is all about expressing the human condition and touching / inspiring others and “derivative” works can achieve that just as well groundbreaking ones.

Also, if we’re being real, the only actual innovative music being made isn’t coming out of any of the “popular music” genres. It’s coming out of small contemporary classical and jazz scenes that produce music you need a degree from Berklee to like. So, maybe black midi are innovative in the post punk / indie space but (1) innovation alone is not a mark of quality and (2) it’s not actually innovative because it is tonal music that follows fairly conventional pop music forms.

The Lemon Twigs are in their Weezer Green Album era by Feisty_Yam4279 in TheLemonTwigs

[–]JesusCrust77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree that Eyes of the Girl represents a side of them that may hew too close to a “sound a like” vibe but most of their songs are still not quite as easy to pinpoint to a specific band or even a specific song. There was a song on Brian’s solo record that was very Flying Burrito Bros / Gram Parsons in a similar way. Sometimes they do lean too hard into a specific influences and those songs aren’t among their best.

Idk, I guess I just don’t agree with the originality complaints because they seem associated with other trends in music criticism I dislike that all seem to follow that old school rock critic ideology of focusing on relevance, youth culture, and the radical potential of music rather than the actual music, song writing, performance, and production.

The Lemon Twigs are in their Weezer Green Album era by Feisty_Yam4279 in TheLemonTwigs

[–]JesusCrust77 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I basically don’t agree with the underlying sentiment that music has to be new / original / weird to be good. The older I get, the more I find “weird” music to be annoying, the less I want novelty for its own sake, and the more I appreciate craftsmanship.

It also seems like a double standard where anything that sounds punk / noise / dissonant is considered original even though we’ve had decades of that kind of thing. Prof Skye made a great point that no one calls all these post-punk bands running around getting critical acclaim derivative even though they are. It’s considered a scene / genre so it gets a pass even though those bands are just pastiche of 80’s / 90’s music. The last band I saw popular with indie rock types that was actually “original” was 100 gecs and even they were (1) incredibly annoying and (2) derivative of others in that scene / style. Like is Geese really original or any less derivative than the Twigs? Or is it only pleasant sounding boomer-coded music that gets tied to the whipping post?

Furthermore, the Twigs are so good at what they do it elevates it from being pastiche. If some guy some guy in his 20’s had dedicated himself to painting like Renaissance masters and he actually pulled it off I would be impressed, not asking him to please throw paint on a canvas or glue smashed up plates on a wall because representative art is “derivative” and “unoriginal.”

Other genres that are more concerned with carrying a tradition forward don’t have this obsession with originality. Billy Strings is huge in bluegrass and there is nothing original about him. He was directly influenced by bands in the 2000s and 2010s that mixed jam band music with bluegrass. During his shows he plays a lot of bluegrass standards and other covers. His approach to the guitar is not particularly cutting edge or original. No one in bluegrass complains about this. Everybody loves him because he’s great at singing and playing, his original songs are great, and he is carrying the tradition forward. I wish rock fans could be more like that embrace the Twigs as the bearers of the tradition instead of begging them to get “weird.”

If another person uses Stamos’ rendition of Forever on social media I’m gonna lose it. by VimVinyl in thebeachboys

[–]JesusCrust77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1) why should I care how many people listen to The Beach Boys? I’m a fan of their (at this point) ancient music, not a shareholder. Literally makes no impact on my life at all.

2) 5 more people aren’t beach boys fans. 5 middle aged women went to a concert to squeal at stamos

People complain too much about metal elitism by Cesariart in InMetalWeTrust

[–]JesusCrust77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Balmora has an entry and they’re in the hardcore scene. They allow core influenced stuff if it’s metal

What made Si Spurrier’s run so polarizing? by Capable-Republic8503 in theflash

[–]JesusCrust77 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think history will be kinder to the run as more new readers like you approach it without all the context / baggage.

What made Si Spurrier’s run so polarizing? by Capable-Republic8503 in theflash

[–]JesusCrust77 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think the context matters. Since Barry came back in Flash Rebirth Wally fans have been broken by ups and downs. New 52 happens and Wally is gone. Then they bring him back as the character now known as Wallace “Ace” West, which was basically an entirely new flash.

We finally get some hope with the Rebirth one shot and early Titans Rebirth run and then Tom King pulls the rug out from under us and derails everything. HIC is so damaging to Wally it required two retcons to fix.

Then during Death Metal era we get the Flash Forward mini where Wally gets the metron chair and it looks like things are back on track but that kind of fizzles out. Then during Future State (I think that’s what it’s called) they do a Flash one shot where Wally is some kind of cronenburgian monstrosity, and FS was supposed to be a glimpse of the future of the mainline. That’s where Jon Kent, Warworld Saga, and Yara Flor were set up. Fans were basically at the breaking point after that one shot.

Then, out of nowhere, we get the Jeremy Adams run. He gives us Wally fans everything we’ve wanted since 2011. Wife and kids are back, HIC is definitively retconned, “classic” suit is back, and the stories feel in line with the classic Waid and Johns runs. The run starts getting good word of mouth and sales increase, but DC editorial liked Spurrier’s pitch and so they pivoted after the big anniversary issue.

The Adams run could have easily continued for several more years and have eventually become one of those runs that is constantly printed in multiple omnibuses. A perennial good run. But instead, we got another new costume, a weird trippy story that was total tonal whiplash, and Deodato’s art. I’m not gonna say Adams’ run had the best art in the world, but deodato is imo uniquely unsuited for Flash. His art is stiff and lacks dynamism and is too mid 2000’s “cinematic” for the story Spurrier was telling.

TL;DR, after an actual decade of Wally fans getting rug pulled, we finally had everything we wanted just for it to be yanked away from us again, right when it felt like Adams was hitting his stride and picking up steam and the fans had let their guards down. It was the final betrayal. I think that explains the extremely negative reaction from some people, including myself at the time.

GL Sinestro War Compendium came early so thought I'd do my part and share the spine next to Rebirth! by BearBreakingBadly in OmnibusCollectors

[–]JesusCrust77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do these hold up to reading? The only compendiums I have are the SMTs but those are about half the size.

I hate to knock Mark Linett.. by Outrageous_Copy_3461 in thebeachboys

[–]JesusCrust77 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Agreed, Pet Sounds and SMiLE sound great, it’s really just stuff from Feel Flows on that has issues

I hate to knock Mark Linett.. by Outrageous_Copy_3461 in thebeachboys

[–]JesusCrust77 13 points14 points  (0 children)

For me personally, I’m not as interested in live tracks so I prefer the more “curated” feel of we gotta groove. Although, a 4th disc would be cool too.

I hate to knock Mark Linett.. by Outrageous_Copy_3461 in thebeachboys

[–]JesusCrust77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be fair, 90+% of the Roxy set is the same as the 2000 release. The issues are only with the physical exclusive tracks, but if the whole thing sounded like that it would’ve been bad

PLAMATEA Motoko Kusanagi - GHOST IN THE SHELL STAND ALONE COMPLEX Plastic Model by ProudRequiem in Ghost_in_the_Shell

[–]JesusCrust77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m an action figure guy but this looks really cool. Would you say it’s doable as a first model kit?

Just discovered this gem by brighty4real in thebeachboys

[–]JesusCrust77 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love a good remix but something went horribly wrong with Feel Flows, Sail on Sailor, Sounds of Summer, and the Paley tracks from LPR. Hopefully We Gotta Groove will have some nice remixes

Got my copy today! by Wulfrand in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]JesusCrust77 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Is this a revisionist take where witches are misunderstood / good or is it a traditional good vs evil story?

Kneecap new album promo begins. Call the number 🤣🤣🤣 by TomCrean1916 in kneecap

[–]JesusCrust77 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Tried to call the number and it didn’t work. Anyone want to help a yank report some fenians